The Past Returns
by evgrrl09
Summary: Sixteen years after their daughter is born, the Morgans have a great life going for them. But when an old enemy comes back and kidnaps Eden, will they be able to survive the pain and heartbreak that is coming? Sequel to my story 'A Forever Kind of Love'. Morgan/Garcia Anti-Lynchers will like this one! Rating changed due to mature content.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds…I just dabble with it.**

**Here's my sequel to "A Forever Kind of Love". Just for reference, this takes place when Eden is 16 and Morgan and Garcia now have three other children. Let me know what you think!**

"Wake up, Baby Doll," Derek boomed as he flipped the light to Eden's room on. "Rise and shine! It's the first day of school." He grinned at his daughter's sleeping form. He went over to sit down on the edge of her bed and shook her shoulders gently. "Up sleepyhead."

A groan came from beneath the mass of curly black hair that covered Eden's head. "Lemme 'lone," she grumbled, pushing her father tiredly. It was amusing how much like Penelope Eden was. Among their numerous similarities, the hatred of mornings was also there.

It was probably because they were so alike that they were having trouble getting along lately.

Chuckling, Derek shook his head and said, "No can do, Your Highness. First day of junior year. Aren't you excited?"

"I'd be more excited if you didn't come ramming in here at the crack of friggin' dawn." She sat up and yawned, rubbing her large brown eyes tiredly. They were very clearly still misted over with sleep. "Am I driving the twins today?" she asked.

Derek shook his head. "Nope. Your mom wants to take them and Haley to school because it's they're first day of high school and middle school. But you're bringing them home."

Eden just nodded and bit her lip, another thing she took from her mother. At sixteen, Eden was a darker skinned, black haired version of Penelope Morgan. Like their personalities, it was frightening how similar they looked. Derek wasn't looking for the days of school where boys were likely to come beating at their door. Last year two of her classmates were in a fight over who could take her to Homecoming.

Kissing her forehead, Derek got up and said, "Start getting ready, Baby Doll. If I come up here again and you're passed out I'm sending your Uncle Spencer to school and he'll make sure to embarrass you thoroughly." Listening to Eden scurry out of bed, he moved to knock on his son Asher's door. "You up in there?" he called. Opening the door, Asher poked his head out and grinned.

"You bet, Dad," he said. "Let my dumbass twin know Mom is going to come up and toss a bucket of ice on him again if he doesn't get up." He was referring to the day over the summer when they were supposed to be attending Spencer Reid's wedding to Lila Archer that the other one of the twins had refused to get out of bed on time and Penelope finally got so fed up she tossed ice under his blankets to get him up.

"You got it," Derek said with a smirk, holding out his fist to bump with Asher's. He moved on to Aiden's room to deliver the message. Rapping on the door, he bellowed, "Aiden, if you're not up, your mother is going to throw ice on you!" He snickered when he heard Aiden scurrying around. His son knew Penelope would follow through.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he hollered.

Sighing, Derek rubbed his forehead. Where had all the time gone when his children were younger and he could pick them up still? His youngest daughter, Haley, was already twelve years old. Proof that he himself was getting way too old. He began to head back downstairs. There was no need to wake up Haley as she was already downstairs munching on her cereal. She'd come into his and Penelope's room at five am requesting that her mother help her straighten her hair for her first day of sixth grade. At some point she'd tried to get Penelope to do her makeup for her, but her mother had refused to do anything but put lipgloss on.

When he got into the kitchen, he brought his finger up to his lips to tell Haley to be quiet so he could sneak up behind Penelope, who was busy at the sink, putting dishes in the dishwasher. Haley grinned and watched as Derek wrapped his arms around her mother. Penelope gave a small yelp and Derek laughed, burying his face in her neck. He placed a gentle kiss on her sweet smelling skin.

"Derek Morgan!" she said sternly.

"Hey Baby Girl," he said, still holding her tightly. They were coming up on fourteen years of marriage and life had been filled with joy for them. After Eden had been born, they had Asher and Aiden. Just when they thought they would be done having kids, Haley had popped on the scene and surprised them both. He specifically remembered the day Penelope had found out she was pregnant with her and smiled. She'd come storming into his office at the BAU before they were supposed to head home and dropped the positive test on his desk.

"You knocked me up again!" she'd hollered. After she'd calmed down, Derek had locked the door to his office and they had sex on his desk.

"Guys!" Haley whined, finishing her orange juice. "Stop being gross." She stuck her tongue out to emphasize she thought her parents' affectionate behavior was nauseating.

Penelope laughed, turned her head to drop a kiss on Derek's lips, and then went back to getting things ready for her three older children. Derek went to pour himself a cup of coffee and turned when he heard his sons thundering down the stairs. Asher grabbed his twin and was attempting to hold him in a headlock while Aiden was struggling to push him off.

"Boys, knock it off," Penelope scolded. "Save it for practice." She tried hiding a smile at her fourteen year old sons who were already as rowdy as their father had once been.

Eden was usually last to come down and today was no exception. She was towing her backpack with her and she'd done her hair and makeup meticulously. Dropping her bag on the table, she went to pour a travel mug of coffee and make toast.

"I'm making pancakes if you want some, honey," Penelope said to Eden.

"I'm fine," Eden grumbled, not bothering to look at her mother, whom she was still furious with.

"Mom, why does _Eden_ get to wear makeup and _I_ don't?" Haley asked. She pouted as she looked at her mother.

Smiling and ignoring her older daughter's animosity, Penelope imitated Haley's pout and placed a kiss on the top of her head. 'Because Eden's old enough," she said.

"Trust me, Haley," Eden said, twisting the lid on her mug. "It all becomes a hassle." She smiled at her little sister and went to hug her. "You look great without it anyway."

Penelope's heart softened as she watched her older daughter interacting with her younger one. She was so used to being on the receiving end of Eden's temper that she relished being able to see her not looking hostile. Lately it had become a common occurrence for her and her daughter to butt heads. She hoped they would get past it soon. She missed the days when she could just be with her and not have to worry about them fighting.

As Eden went back to the toaster to get her newly popped up toast, Penelope asked, "Eden, baby, do you have anything going on after school?" she asked. It stung when she just glared at her, but she kept her face neutral and looked at her expectantly.

"_No_," Eden snapped, biting into her toast. "I'm coming home, doing my homework, then going to watch a DVD. No worries, _Mom_."

Derek turned to Eden and his face became stern. "Eden Jennifer Morgan, knock it off! I get that you're mad at your mother and I for not letting you go to Ashley's party tonight, but it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you. After the last time when you decided to try alcohol, it should have been clear to you that there would be no more parties for a long while for you."

Glaring at her father, she growled, "Take her side again. You always do! God, I hate you both sometimes." She grabbed her bag and her breakfast before storming out the door, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. When Eden Morgan was angry, the whole Morgan household knew it.

Derek glanced at Penelope and saw that she was fighting tears. He didn't understand why his daughter constantly fought with her mother. Penelope would do anything for her children, yet Eden was convince she was out to sabotage her entire life.

"Mom," Asher said, "we've got to get going." He nodded his head at the clock as he finished his last bite of pancake.

Snapping out of her daze, Penelope smiled brightly and nodded. "Boys, Haley, let's get rolling," she said, beginning to usher her remaining children out the door.

"Baby Girl," Derek called. He moved to hold her in his arms. "It'll be okay," he murmured. "She'll get over it."

Smiling, Penelope leaned up to kiss him again and whispered, "I hope so."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds…but Christmas is just around the corner if CBS wants to be nice :)**

**Here is chapter 2!**

"She _still _won't let you come?" Ashley asked incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

Eden rolled her eyes and nodded. "Dead serious," she grumbled. The two girls were heading to their first class of the school year and was explaining that her mother still hadn't relented in letting her come to Ashley's back-to-school bash. Eden was positively fuming. All the time she tried so hard to please both her parents. She got great grades, she played soccer and was on varsity her sophomore year, she volunteered at a variety of places. Yet the one time she screwed up ruined her entire social life. And her dad had just taken her mother's side, the way he always did. "I swear, Ash, I'm totally fed up with my mom right now. She's been a complete bitch all summer!"

"Calm down, Eden," Ashley laughed. "Your look like you're about to blow a blood vessel." She snickered at her best friend. The girls went into their first class of the day just as the bell rang to signal the day was starting. The teacher at the front of the room was a pudgy looking man with greasy and graying hair, a terribly patterned and ill-fitting dress shirt, and thick black rimmed glasses. Eden barely glanced his way, but immediately glanced back when she saw that he was staring at her. His gaze followed her all the way to a desk and she felt a shiver go up her spine. This guy was giving her an uneasy gut feeling and she wanted to sprint out of the room.

Ashley and her settled into seats and waited for class to officially start. Their teacher had finally moved on from staring at Eden and she instantly felt better. She shook her head. It was probably just an accident that he'd stared at her too long. His gaze was now scanning the room. When he opened his mouth, his voice came out nasally and raspy.

"Alright, good morning ladies and gentlemen," he said. "I'm Mr. Leon. Welcome to Trig 2!" He looked at them with a big cheesy smile and no one said anything. He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Well, as most of you know, I'm new here and I just wanted to say how glad I am that I'll be teaching you all this year." The entire room just looked at him blankly and Eden felt her phone vibrate with a text. She pulled it out and smirked at Ashley's words.

_This guy is a total fruitcake…_

"Ms. Morgan!"

Gulping, Eden shoved her phone back in her pocket and looked up to see Mr. Leon striding towards her. There was something uneasy about the look he had when he came over to her seat and Eden shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't know why but this guy reminded her of the creeps her parents caught for a living.

"Hmm?" she hiccupped.

"Care to share your thoughts with the class?" he said. "You seem rather amused with something."

She shook her head firmly. "No, sorry," she mumbled.

Mr. Leon shook his head and said, "Report here after the day is over, Ms. Morgan." He returned to the front of the room and Eden just stared at him, not believing what had just happened.

Halfway into the class period, she realized that he had known her name without her saying anything. Who the hell was this guy?

Penelope was just finishing her search for Hotch when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller id and was interested when she saw Eden picture pop up on the screen. Usually her oldest child texted, but what really puzzled her was why she was calling her at ten in the morning when she should have been in class.

"Hello," she said, removing her blue tooth headset and answering her cell.

"Mom," Eden said warily.

"Hey baby," Penelope said softly. "Is everything okay?" There was some hesitation on the other side of the line and she inhaled sharply. "Eden, are you alright?"

"Mom, I'm not gonna be able to take the others home from school," Eden said. "I, uh, I got a detention."

Penelope was shocked. Eden had never so much as gotten a scolding from her teachers in school and on the first day of her junior year of high school she got slapped with a detention? Something was extremely off about this. "Eden, are you kidding me?"

Huffing, her daughter replied, "No! Ashley made me laugh and our new Trig teacher, Mr. Leon saw. He wants me to stay after school."

A thought it Penelope as she listened to her daughter's story. Angrily she said, "Eden, are you lying about this so you can go to that party?"

Disbelief filled Eden's tone. "What? No! I'm serious. I have a detention."

"Teachers don't give detentions for something like that," Penelope argued.

"Mom, do you really think I would lie about something like this?"

"I don't know, would you?"

There was a tense silence and finally Eden snarled, "You know what, Mom? Go to hell. I'm not lying and if you want to call the teacher and ask, be my fucking guest!"

Gasping, Penelope said, "Eden!" But she got no response; her daughter had hung up. Immediately she felt bad. Eden most likely had been telling the truth and she was just so frustrated with her from the morning that she'd lashed out. Tossing her phone on her desk, Penelope felt tears in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. Putting her elbows on her desk, she finally just let her tears fall. Would the hostility with her daughter ever end?

_After School_

Eden had cried after her conversation with her mother. She was ready to apologize and seek comfort from her, but she'd jumped immediately to the conclusion that she was lying. Now she was heading back to Mr. Leon's room for her detention.

"Ah, Ms. Morgan," he said when she showed up. "Come on in." He was sitting at his desk and he stood up when she came in.

"Hi," she said mutely.

Clapping his hands together, Mr. Leon said, "Well, today for your detention I'm going to need your help loading some things into my car. Does that seem reasonable?"

"Umm, sure," she said, dropping her bag. "Which way?"

Mr. Leon waved his hand and said, "Follow me." Eden nodded and followed her teacher out of the classroom and to the teacher's parking lot. She remained silent the whole way to the car which was a large black van. Her insides were churning as she looked at the van. What kind of teacher drove a van that looked like _this_? "Umm, Mr. Leon? What exactly am I helping you –"

She tried to scream when Mr. Leon grabbed her around the neck, but he clamped his hand over her mouth. She struggled to kick out against him, but he whispered in her ear, "Stop struggling, _Eden_. Mommy and Daddy won't want you hurt."

Shoving her hard into the van, he slammed the door and Eden sat up. She began to bang on the side of the van. "Let me out of here you bastard!"

From the driver's seat, she heard a vicious cackle. "Don't worry, little Eden," he said. "Mommy and Daddy will be talking to you soon."

_Six O'clock_

"How many times have you tried her cell phone?" Derek asked Penelope when he got in the front door.

"More times than I can count," Penelope said frantically. She was pacing around in their living room and had tears running down her cheeks. "I tried Ashley; she said she's not with her. Derek, what if she took off somewhere or –"

The phone rang, breaking Penelope's string of words. Grasping Derek's hand, she ran to the phone and picked it up. "Eden? Eden, please tell me if you're okay!"

The voice she heard made her blood run cold. "Hello Penny…"

**Guess who is back…? Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds :(**

**Here's Chapter 3! So Kevin has returned and he's not a happy camper. Hope you enjoy it. Thank you for the reviews guys on the other chapters!**

Penelope felt faint all of the sudden. "Who is this?" she demanded, even though she had a pretty good idea of who it was. "Who are you? Where's my daughter?"

A laugh filled her ear and Penelope hit the speaker phone button so Derek could hear everything that was being said. "Now Penny, don't you remember me? We were married…we had a life together."

"Kevin?" she hiccupped. Tears began to roll down her cheeks and she bit her lip. "Kevin, is that you?"

"Much better, Penny," he clucked. "So, how have you been? Busy is my guess considering you have four children. Now I know Eden, I was there when she was born after all. I know all about her. She's a good student, and she's very, _very_ beautiful. She looks just like you Penny. And then there are Asher and Aiden, the twins. Just like their father those two. All rowdy and brutish." There was a laugh before he added, "And let's not forget little Haley. This little cutie was named after Aaron Hotchner's dead wife, right?"

Penelope's tears were coming down fast now and she forced herself to take a deep breath. She refused to let her ex-husband hear her cry. He knew about their lives, he knew about her children. "Kevin, where's Eden?"

"Oh, she's with me right now."

In the background of Kevin's end of the line Penelope and Derek could hear the sounds of struggle and then heard Eden scream. Clamping her hand over her mouth, Penelope cried out, "Kevin, don't hurt her! Please, don't hurt my baby girl."

"Mom! Mom!"

"Kevin, please! I'm begging you, let her go!" Penelope sobbed.

"Lynch, you sick son of a bitch," Derek growled. "I swear to God if you hurt my daughter I'll kill you."

"I'd like to see you do that," Kevin said with a laugh.

Still crying, Penelope whimpered, "Kevin, can I please talk to her? Please?"

"And you'll keep begging until I say so," he said, his voice dangerously low. "I'll contact you via webcam tomorrow. Noon. Then maybe I'll let you talk to your daughter." Before the signal cut out, there was the sound of someone getting hit and Penelope broke down and fell to the floor in a heap.

Derek knelt down and wrapped his arms around Penelope. "Derek, he's got our baby," she sobbed into his chest. "What's he going to do to her?"

"We're going to get her back," he said firmly. "And then I'm going to put him away for the rest of his miserable life."

_Elsewhere_

Eden's eyes fluttered open. After she'd gone to help Mr. Leon and he'd thrown her into the back of his van, she'd begun to scream. He'd pulled the van over later to knock her out when he couldn't handle it anymore. The next thing she knew she was hanging from rope with her hands above her head from a piece of piping. Her head felt like a nail was getting pounded into it and she groaned.

"Hello Penny," Mr. Leon said into a phone.

It was on speakerphone because her mother's voice broke out. "Who is this?" she said. Her voice was scared out of her mind. Eden wanted to call out to her, but her voice wasn't making an appearance. "Who are you? Where's my daughter?"

Eden focused on her surroundings. Her eyes made out what looked like a cage type room. The walls were bare and dark-colored and there was very little light. On the other side of the cage was Mr. Leon with his phone. He'd called her mother Penny, something she hated when anyone called her. Who was this guy and how did he know her mom?

"Now Penny, don't you remember me?" he snickered. "We were married…we had a life together."

Penelope said, "Kevin? Kevin is that you?"

"Much better, Penny," he said, his voice chilling Eden to the bone. She had no idea who Kevin was, but it didn't sound like they were friends. Eden knew her mother had been married before she married her father, but she'd never pressed to know much about the man she'd married. All she'd ever known was her parents were in love and that she'd been born before they were married. "So, how have you been? Busy is my guess considering you have four children. Now I know Eden, I was there when she was born after all. I know all about her. She's a good student, and she's very, _very_ beautiful. She looks just like you Penny. And then there are Asher and Aiden, the twins. Just like their father those two. All rowdy and brutish. And let's not forget little Haley. This little was cutie was named after Aaron Hotchner's dead wife, right?"

This guy had been stalking her family and by the sound of it he had it out for her in particular. Tears started to slide down her cheeks silently. "Kevin, where's Eden?"

"Oh, she's with me right now."

Finally Eden found her voice and she let out a blood-curdling scream to let her parents know she was awake. Penelope began to sob and she cried, "Kevin, don't hurt her! Please, don't hurt my baby girl!" Eden began to fight against her restraints, the wires holding her up digging into her wrists and making small trails of blood slide down her skin. Even though she had been fighting with her mother, all she wanted was to see her and let her hold her until she fell asleep.

Coughing, she screamed, "Mom! Mom!"

Listening to her mother cry, Eden immediately felt guilty for everything that she'd said to her earlier. "Kevin, please! I'm begging you, let her go!" she cried.

Her father's voice broke out. "Lynch, you sick son of a bitch. I swear to God if you hurt my daughter I'll kill you."

"I'd like to see you do that." He laughed hysterically and Eden let out a small cry. The man, whoever he was, brought the phone with him, and unlocked the cage area where Eden was hanging.

"Kevin, can I talk to her? Please?"

"You'll keep begging until I say you can talk to you," he snarled. "I'll contact you via webcam tomorrow. Then maybe I'll let you talk to your daughter." Eden didn't even see Kevin's hand come up to smack her in the face. She let out a groan. Kevin clicked the phone off and smiled at her evilly. Smacking her again, she let out another yelp and tried to kick out. "Hold still, bitch."

"Let me go you, bastard," she spat. "Leave my family alone!"

"You and Mommy have been having trouble lately haven't you?" he said, getting right in her face. His breath was hot on her face and she winced in disgust. "You see, your mother was the love of my life. But your father got in the way. Constantly. Until one day, he went a little too far." Kevin grabbed her hair and yanked it. "The two of them slept together the night before our wedding and the result…" His eyes grew wide and he smiled manically. "You! My wife told me that she was pregnant with _my_ child and when you were born, it was not my child, but Derek Morgan's daughter that came out of her." Instead of slapping her this time, he punched her in the jaw.

Eden coughed and blood came out of her mouth. "Sixteen years and you're still beat up about this? Get a life and move one, dude," she snapped. "My parents love each other. A little whiny bastard like you can't keep something like that from happening."

She felt the cool metal of a blade pushed against her throat and watched as Kevin said, "Once you're dead, it won't matter."

**What do you guys think? Want some more? As always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own one little bit of Criminal Minds.**

**Just to warn you all, this chapter contains torture. Please review and tell me your thoughts!**

"Hotchner," Hotch said when he answered the phone.

A very panicked Derek cried, "Hotch, we need to get to the BAU now!"

"Morgan, what's going on?" he asked in confusion. It was after seven at night on a school night. There was little to no reason for Derek to be calling demanding a meeting in the BAU room.

It was then that something interesting happened. Derek choked on a sob. "Hotch, it's Lynch. He took Eden."

Penelope was making sure her children were settled in the bullpen before she made it into the BAU room. The twins and Haley were extremely confused about why they were dashing immediately to the BAU but Penelope refused to leave them alone at the house with the possibility that Kevin could try and take them too. All of them were rushing around trying to figure out what they could do.

"When was the last time you saw Kevin?" Rossi asked. Though he was retiring in just a matter of days, the older agent was unyielding in his offer to help find Eden.

"It's been sixteen years," Derek growled. "What the hell is he doing?" Derek's anger was beginning to get so out of control that he could barely think straight without seeing red. Next to him, Penelope was sitting with tear-stained cheeks and her head in her hands. Emotions were flooding through her: pain, fear, guilt. The last thing she'd said to her daughter was that she was lying and the thought that Kevin had her somewhere, locked up and hurt, made her feel sick to her stomach. She remembered when Eden had been a baby and Kevin was still furious over her leaving him for Derek. Something he'd said on one of the occasions she'd gone to get their divorce papers signed sprang into her mind and she gasped.

_One day your daughter will get what's coming to her_.

"Oh my God," she murmured, covering her mouth with her hands. "When I went to get him to sign our divorce papers he said… he…" Her voice broke and she sobbed into her hands again. "I should have protected her from this! I should never have thought he wasn't serious!"

"What did he say?" JJ asked, watching as Derek wrapped his arms around Penelope in an attempt to calm her down.

"He told her one day Eden would get what's coming to her," Derek grunted through gritted teeth. Standing up again, he blindly slammed his fists on the table.

"Hotch, we heard him beating her," Penelope said, tears still coming from her eyes. "Please tell me you'll get her back."

Hotch looked at both Penelope and Derek, people he had known for a little over twenty years, and felt the strings of his heart tighten. In all that time he'd never seen either of them worse than right now. Penelope was a mess of tears and Derek, a man Hotch never thought he'd see break, looked like he was cracking. He remembered when Eden was born and watching her grow up, practically a clone of her mother already and he knew he wanted blood too.

"I promise you that we'll do everything in our power," Hotch vowed. "We'll hunt him down and catch him, just like any other unsub. You'll have Eden back. But right now, I need you both calm. We're going to need to talk to both of you in depth about the events surrounding Eden's disappearance. It won't be easy and we can't predict what Kevin will do. I need to know that you both will be prepared."

Penelope's eyes were wide and she stared at him, frightened. Derek just looked at the ground. They both knew the dangers that came with unsubs who took people for revenge. There was a chance that Kevin might severely hurt or kill their daughter. It wasn't only her parents that looked scared around the room. The entirety of the BAU had watched Eden grow up and were frightened too that they might lose her. This would likely be the hardest case of their lives.

"We understand," Derek said hoarsely. He looked back up at Hotch with bloodshot eyes. "Can you give us a minute?" he asked.

"Of course," Hotch said with a nod. "We'll give you the room. Everyone…"

As they made their way out of the round table room to allow husband and wife a few moments alone, Rossi said, "This is going to be one hell of a case to retire after." It was looking like David Rossi's last case would be one of a more personal nature.

The other three Morgan children looked up from staring at the floor when the team entered the bullpen and there was varying degrees of emotion covering all their faces. Asher looked like he might throw up, Aiden was trying not to cry, and Haley's face still had tears pouring down it. She got up from sitting next to Asher on the floor and ran to throw her arms around Emily's waist. The little girl had always idolized her. "Aunt Emily, are you gonna get Eden back?" She looked up at Emily and the rest of the team with her soaked cheeks and wet eyes. "Please tell me you'll get her back home." Her lower lip trembled.

Rossi looked at the little girl and said sympathetically, "Of course we're going to get her back, _bella_. I promise you we're going to do everything we can."

Haley just nodded and held on tighter to Emily's waist.

"Derek, we need to get her back," Penelope sobbed. "I want my baby back."

Resting his forehead against hers, Derek whispered, "I know you do, Penelope. And we're going to get her back."

Shaking her head, she mumbled, "The last thing I said to her was that she was lying, Derek. I called my daughter a liar and she was telling the truth and now she's been taken. Derek, I should have told her I loved her. She must hate me now! She must think I abandoned her!"

"No!" he said firmly. "Eden knows you love her. You're her mother. She was calling out for you, Penelope. Don't you ever doubt that she loves you."

"We started off the day fighting and it only got worse," she said. "How did it come to this? How did Eden and I become so distant?"

"Baby Girl, you're a mother with a teenage daughter," Derek reasoned. "There's bound to be some distance between the two of you at some point in her life."

Sagging against her husband's chest and crying harder, Penelope said, "I just want to get her back and tell her I love her. She has to hear it from me."

"And she will Baby Girl," Derek swore. "She will."

A flood of water fell down Eden's hair and she coughed, coming back awake. She looked up to Kevin's eyes again and glared at him. Light came from only a fluorescent panel on the ceiling and she had to blink several times for her eyes to adjust to the dimness. The cup that had doused her was tossed to the side and into a furnace that was making her cage feel like a thousand degrees. In it was a large metal poker and Eden eyed it warily.

"Wakey, wakey 'Baby Doll," Kevin cackled. "That's what your daddy calls you, isn't it?"

"Fuck you," she grunted. For that she received a smack that made her see stars. Blotches of black and gray filled her vision. Both her arms were sore, she had a pounding head, and she was fairly sure the punches she'd received throughout the last twelve hours were bruising.

Kevin went to stand in front of her and sneered, "Be nice." Moving to a laptop positioned to face Eden, he added, "It's showtime. Ready to see Mommy and Daddy?"

Eden's eyes shot to the clock and saw him pulling up an internet connection. It was noon; time for her parents' webcam viewing. Kevin let out a girlish snigger when he succeeded in getting a connection up. "Good afternoon, Agents," he giggled. "How's everyone today? Penny, you're looking a bit pale." He moved out of the way of the camera so Penelope and Derek's faces became visible to Eden. The rest of the BAU team was present, all of them looking grave.

Penelope let out a strangled cry when she saw her daughter hanging from the piping, bloodied and bruised. "Eden? Eden, can you hear me?" she sobbed.

Kevin made a "tsking" noise and smacked Eden across the face, making her grit her teeth. She wasn't going to let her parents know how much pain she was in. As she predicted, her father had shot from his chair and began shouting all forms of obscenities at Kevin through the camera.

"You're a dead man!" he yelled. "Don't think I won't beat you until you're fucking body isn't breathing. Because when I find you there won't be a body for anyone to find!"

Eden watch as her Uncle Hotch and Aunt Emily grabbed her raging father by the shoulders and dragged him, still hollering, from the room. Kevin remained snickering at his old rival until he was taken away.

"Kevin, why are you doing this to my daughter?" Penelope asked, her voice hoarse. Though it was clear that she was crying, she was remaining relatively calm, trying to stay strong for Eden.

"Penny, I warned you that one day precious Eden would get what she deserves," he snarled, grabbing Eden's throat and squeezing it. She began to fight for air, her eyes going wide in fright. "You don't remember? Your husband dear jumped me that night that I said that to you." Releasing Eden's neck, he gave her another stinging punch to the jaw, causing her head to flop backwards. This time Eden couldn't stop the groan of pain that escaped her lips. Penelope wrung her hands together and a sob of her own came from her mouth.

"Kevin, you're mad at _me_," she cried. "Let my daughter go. Take me!"

At hearing her mother's plea, Eden's body shot into overdrive and she started fighting against her restraints, barely noticing the sting in her wrists. "No, Mom! Don't give this sicko what he wants! Don't!" She felt tears roll down her cheeks as she looked at her mother through the webcam. "Aiden, Asher, and Haley need you. I'll be fine."

"Hear that, Penny?" Kevin said, moving towards the furnace he had blasting. "Your baby is all grown up. And she's becoming just like her father in this situation: a martyr." Looking back at Eden from the furnace, he asked, "What would you do to keep your mother away from here? Anything?"

Eden nodded, despite Penelope's protests from the computer. "Anything."

Kevin nodded and smiled. He began to fiddle with something and Eden looked back to her mother. "Eden, no," she whispered. "What did you see on your way there? Anything to tell us where you might be?"

Shaking her head, Eden said, "Even if I did I wouldn't tell you. Stay away from him! He's nuts."

"I'm not going to leave you!" Penelope cried. "Eden, I promise you I will find you!"

Sniffling, Eden said, "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. Please don't hate me. I love you and I didn't mean anything I said."

Penelope was close to sobbing now. "Eden, baby, I love you so much! I'm going to find you and it's going to be okay. We're going to see you soon."

"Don't be so sure of that, Penny," Kevin hooted as he strode back into view of the camera. In his hand he was carrying a long metal poker that was bright orange on the end. "Your little girl is about to be eating her words right now." With wide eyes, Eden stared at the poker until Kevin was behind her. She began to shake violently when he ripped the back of her t-shirt.

"No!" Penelope screamed at the same moment Eden shrieked as Kevin drew the burning hot metal rod across her back, leaving a trail of burning flesh in its wake.

**Don't worry, Kevin will be getting what he deserves…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, just the scenarios I stick the characters in.**

**Here's chapter 5. Just an FYI, it's gonna get worse before it gets better. But I believe in a happy ending. Don't worry, Eden will be reunited with her family.**

Eden's screams would haunt Penelope for the rest of her life. Watching Kevin using a metal pole to burn her daughter because of the wrongs she'd done to him almost twenty years ago made her feel like her entire world would be consumed with guilt. She felt like she'd failed her daughter, not having protected her against the darkness that her ex-husband was clearly dabbling in these days. Penelope cried and JJ came and put her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to keep her calm.

When Kevin reappeared from behind Eden's pained form, he grinned, clearly proud of his malicious handiwork and snickered at the camera, "Do you see how much you failed her? Do you see how terrible you are as a mother to Derek Morgan's children?"

"Don't listen to a word he says," Eden shouted.

"Shut up!" Kevin shouted at her, hitting her in the face and knocking her out.

Clenching her hands into fists, Penelope glared at Kevin and said, "When we find you, you sick wack-job, we're going to lock you up for the rest of your despondent existence. And if you somehow get away, we'll track you to the ends of the earth and there will be no, I repeat, _no_ place for you to hide." She paused to make sure her words sunk into his greasy skull. "We'll find you. And we will kill you if we have to."

All Kevin did was shake his head and laugh and turn off the laptop's camera, making Penelope's screen go black.

"All you were doing was giving him what he wanted, you know that," Hotch cautioned Derek as he sat with his head in his hands in his office. "He wanted to see you do that!"

"Sometimes you just can't always stay in frigid control, Hotch!" Derek shouted. "That maniac has my daughter and who knows what he's done to hurt her. What if he rapes her, huh? I wouldn't be able to survive knowing that the man who almost stole Penelope away from me took my little girl away from us for good. I won't let her suffer like that."

Hotch looked at him, his face softening. "You're going to get your daughter back. It'll take time to heal, but she's strong, just like her mother. She'll come back to her own self when she's out of there."

Looking at Hotch for a long moment and seeing the compassion his friend held for his daughter written all over his face, Derek finally broke down and let his tears fall.

Penelope, Rossi, Reid, and JJ sat in mostly eerie silence, save for the crying Penelope couldn't stop. JJ wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly as she cried. A few of Rossi's tears fell onto is jacket and he quickly tried to wipe them away. He'd been the one to walk Penelope and Eden down the aisle at her wedding. He couldn't bear the thought of the little girl he'd watched grow up into a wonderful, yet rebellious young woman being harmed in any way shape or form.

Reid was staring out the window of the room, seeming to be asking the skies why something so terrible was hitting them at that moment. The young genius was remembering all the times he'd helped the extremely bright Eden with her homework that she was having trouble understanding. He hoped to God he would be doing it for another fifty years, but he was weighing the probability in his head and the odds weren't against them, but they weren't for them either.

JJ was wiping away tears from her face as she watched her best girlfriend break down of the abduction of her daughter and the torture she'd just witnessed at the hands of a man she thought she once loved. It was one of the most painful things she'd ever experienced. It was even worse than when Henry had gone away to college or Will had died during a shooting.

But it was Penelope who was feeling the worst. She had wanted desperately for Eden to beg her to save her, but instead she told her not to. She told her to stay away from Kevin whom she was certain would hurt her if she got close enough. Watching him torture and burn her daughter because of her filled her chest cavity with so much pain that she thought she might explode from guilt. It wouldn't matter what anyone said: this was her fault and on one else's.

Derek and Hotch returned, but Emily had stayed with Haley because the little girl became inconsolable after she'd seen her father being dragged hollering from the round table room. When Derek returned, he looked ashamed of himself and Penelope got up to wrap herself in his arms. He gratefully took her embrace and buried his face in her neck.

"Alright, were you able to find anything regarding his whereabouts?" Hotch asked Penelope. "Any trace of where the signal might be coming from?"

"Kevin's a techie, so he knew how to cover his tracks," Penelope said, pulling away from Derek. Her neck was wet with his tears. "He knows we can't track him that way. I did have someone talking to the school. It looks like he forged the right documents to make people think he was a qualified teacher. We have an address he gave them."

Derek shook his head. "We're not going to find anyone there."

"Maybe there will be something that will lead to his location, though. Plans or directions of some sort," JJ said thoughtfully. "We need to check it out."

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest and said, "JJ's right. Alright, Morgan you are only – I repeat, _only_ allowed to come if you can keep your cool. We're not going to find them there, but you are going to find things you don't like. He knows about you and Penelope, about your children, about your routines and he was good enough to stay in hiding for sixteen years. Am I perfectly clear?"

Derek gave him a stiff nod. "Crystal."

Turning to Penelope, he put a hand on a hand on her shoulder. "Penelope, you need to stay with your children. You'll be kept in the loop at all times. But your kids need their mother right now."

Penelope nodded and moved to hug Derek tightly. His arms wrapped around her again and he rested his chin on her head. "Bring my baby home to me," she whispered into his chest.

"I will," he promised. Pulling her face to his, Derek kissed her.

"Mom?"

Penelope looked up from her place on Hotch's office couch. Asher had lain down and was asleep with his head upon her lap while Aiden had his head laying on her shoulder. Haley had gone to get some apple juice, but now she appeared in the doorway, juicebox in hand.

"Yeah baby?" she said softly. The baby of the family was taking her sister's disappearance much harder than her brothers.

"Why did that guy take Eden?" she asked. She took a sip of her juice and looked at her mother expectantly.

Penelope blinked, trying to decide how to explain what happed all those years ago. Having never anticipated Kevin returning to her life and abducting Eden, she never thought she'd have to tell her children about her and Derek's beginnings as a couple. That they had truly been brought together because the baby she thought was Kevin's was in fact Derek's.

"Yeah," Asher said, sitting up. Apparently he was awake. "Who is he?" Aiden was also looking up at her now and she was left in staring range of her twin sons and tween daughter.

Sighing, she motioned for Haley to join them on the couch and began to tell them the true story of how their parents had come together.

"Clear!" Derek said gruffly after he'd checked around the house. It was simply furnished, only having the basic needs to live. But what he found in a separate part of the house disturbed him the most. Surveillance photos of him and Penelope. Pictures of their children at all stages of their lives. The wedding announcement in the paper from when Penelope and he had gotten married. On a desk he found notebooks, all of them containing information about the daily life and routine of the Morgan household.

He glared, looking all around the room and finally he became so angry he punched a wall, damaging the plaster and leaving a gaping hole behind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, although I wish I did :(**

**Here's Chapter 6. As always, your reviews are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you if you're already done one!**

Night had begun to set in and all three of her children were asleep again. Haley lay curled up against Penelope, finally calm enough to fall asleep. Penelope was stroking her daughter's hair and wiping her tears away. Next to her, her phone rang and she rushed to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello Penny dear," came Kevin's nasally voice. "How're you doing right now?"

Snarling, Penelope whispered, "Kevin. You better believe me when I say this: if Derek or I get a hold of your miserable neck, you'll wish you'd never been born."

"Penny, if you want to see your daughter again, you'll come to these coordinates. Tell your husband and I'll kill your daughter without a second thought."

The line went dead and a text came in. Gently resting her daughter's head on the couch, Penelope kissed all three of her children and went to Hotch's desk to write something down for them.

_Derek,_

_I'm sorry. Kevin contacted me. He'll kill Eden if I tell you where he is. I'm going to get her. I don't think I'll come back alive, but Eden will. I promise you that. Tell Aiden, Asher, and Haley that I love them very much and that I'll always be with them, even if they can't see me._

_I love you, Hot Stuff_

_Penelope_

A few tears hit the paper and she hurried to wipe them away. Before leaving the room, she glanced back at her sleeping children and left before she could make enough knows to wake them. On the way out, she passed Agent Anderson and said, "Anderson?"

"Yeah, Penelope?" His face was sympathetic as he looked at her.

"Please watch my children," she said quietly. "I have to make a stop somewhere."

"Of course."

Penelope got into Derek's SUV and punched in the coordinates to where the coordinates Kevin said would lead her. The GPS showed that he was in Maine in the middle of nowhere. He was probably in a secluded cabin where no one would hear Eden's screams.

She'd taken every precaution to make sure Derek couldn't follow her. She'd left her phone at the BAU so there would be no way to trace her. As she pulled out of the parking garage, she began the long drive ahead of her that would lead to her daughter's release.

It was past one in the morning when the team returned to the BAU. The scene had to be processed and they had torn the place apart searching for any clues as to where Kevin had taken Eden. There was nothing. Not a single clue as to where Eden was.

Derek immediately went to Hotch's office where Penelope and the other children were. He didn't know how he was supposed to tell her that everything at Kevin's had led to a dead end. When he opened the door, however, there was no sign of Penelope. Just his sleeping children.

Rushing out of the office, Derek found Anderson sitting at his desk, pouring over a file. "Anderson," he growled. "Where's my wife?"

"She told me she had to go somewhere around eight," he said, looking confused. "I assumed she was going to the crime scene to meet you."

"Oh God," he said, rubbing his head. "She must have gotten contacted by Kevin."

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, dropping her bag on the floor by her desk.

"It's Penelope! She's gone after Kevin," he said, rushing back to Hotch's office. He looked around for something that might tell him where she was headed. On the desk he found a note. Scanning it, he rubbed his face and ran out to Hotch and the rest of the team.

"What is it?" Hotch demanded. "Where's Penelope?"

"Kevin made contact wither her while we were away," Derek murmured. "She's gone after him."

It was three in the morning by the time Penelope reached the deserted cabin that Kevin's coordinates had led her to. There was no light, save for what was coming from the cabin. On the small porch stood Kevin, his arms crossed and vicious smile on his face. Time had not been kind to his appearance, aging him and creating someone who didn't look anything like the man she'd seen sixteen years ago. Taking a deep breath, she went forward and demanded, "Where's my daughter?"

"Come with me," he snickered. "I'll take you to her." He motioned with his hand for her to follow him inside. What she found horrified her. A large cave like area had Eden locked in, hanging from the piping still. Her face and neck were bruised and there was blood trickling down her arms. There were burns covering her arms as well.

Eden looked up and gasped when she saw her mother. "Mom! What are you doing here?"

Penelope felt tears streaming down her cheeks and opened the door to the cage. She rushed to her daughter and pulled the bonds apart, causing Eden to fall to her feet. Her legs were unsteady and she collapsed into her mother's arms. Penelope hugged her tightly and the two of them fell to the ground, Penelope holding her daughter and crying.

"Mom, you shouldn't have come!" Eden cried. "Why did you come?"

"Eden, you're my daughter. I'm always going to come when you need me," she said, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Moving closer to whisper in her ear, she said, "I'm going to distract him. The SUV is outside. You get in and you drive and you don't look back."

Burying her face against her mother's chest, Eden murmured, "I'm not leaving you behind! I won't do it."

Grasping her face, Penelope said, "Don't you even think about it. I love you so much, Eden. I'm always going to be with you. I hope you get the best out of life, okay? Always follow your heart and love unconditionally. You take care of your brothers and sister. And your father. He's going to need you."

Tears poured down Eden's cheeks. She was beginning to realize that her mother had no intention of getting out of here. She'd come to sacrifice herself for her. "Mom, don't do this. Don't leave us!" It was then that Kevin grabbed Penelope by the hair and yanked her away from Eden. "No! Let her go you bastard! Adrenaline rushed through her veins and she made a lunge for Kevin. "Let her go!" The next thing she knew, Kevin had flipped out a knife and stuck it in her abdomen. But Eden ignored the pain and kept trying to fight off Kevin.

Pushing Penelope forward and out of the cage, Kevin stuck his knife in Eden again and she stumbled backwards. She fell on her back and locked in her in. "Eden!" Penelope screamed. Kevin pulled out a gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at a bleeding Eden. Turning to Penelope, he snarled, "Strip to your panties or I'll blow your fucking daughter's brains all over this cabin!"

Penelope's eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen to her. But her daughter was in danger of being killed. "Kevin, please don't make my daughter watch this," she begged. "Please!"

Kevin snickered wickedly. "Oh, she's going to watch, because if she doesn't I'm going to stick you. Then she'll watch me kill you. And when I'm done with you, I will force her to watch the films I make of me killing the rest of your miserable family. I think I'll start with little Haley. I'll work my way up to the twins, and then I'll cut Derek Morgan up into tiny little pieces that people won't be able to recognize his body. And then your baby will be left alone in the world."

"Kevin, don't hurt my mother! Please," Eden pleaded. "Just do it to me!"

Penelope stared wide eyed at her daughter who had just offered to get raped in order to spare her mother. "Eden? What the fuck are you doing?" she said, tears running down her cheeks.

Kevin laughed. "Your daughter may be a lot like you, Penny. But she's equally like her father: willing to sacrifice herself for anyone she loves." He looked at Eden and said, "It's pathetic. But unfortunately her noble efforts won't save you, Penny. You're going to get what's coming to you." Turning back to Penelope, he said, "Get to it, or I shoot her."

Eden began to beat her fists against the cage, shaking the metal frame to avail. "No!" she screeched as her mother began to shake with fear and unbutton her sweater.

Derek was pacing around in Hotch's office, making sure his children were staying asleep. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out how the hell he was going to find Penelope. She'd done everything she could to keep the coordinates a secret from them. She'd left her phone so they couldn't use the GPS to track her.

Then his head shot up. She'd left her phone. Rushing to Hotch's desk, he pulled his wife's iPhone up and scrolled through her recent text messages. She'd left the text with the coordinates on it. She'd forgotten to erase it.

"Hotch!" he shouted as he ran into the bullpen. "I have the coordinates!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.**

**So this chapter will contain some mature content and it's not going to be fun. But Kevin will get what's coming to him. That's a promise. Thank you for the reviews so far!**

Penelope was stripping to the sounds of her daughter screaming. Her body was shaking as Kevin stared at her a malicious glint in his eyes and she sent up a small message, praying the Derek would forgive her. Disgust ran rampant through her body and she winced, closing her eyes and crying. When she was in nothing but her bra and underwear, Kevin pushed her roughly down onto a filthy mattress.

She turned to Eden who was now sobbing and whispered, "Don't look, Eden." She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain that was about to come as Kevin unzipped his pants and thrust into her. Lying limply, she kept her eyes closed and cried, whimpering in pain and praying she would pass out.

As Derek sat on the BAU's jet, he had his head in his hands. His mother had arrived in Quantico and was with the twins and Haley. The tears in her eyes when Derek met her at the BAU to pick them up were still in his head. "Bring them home," she'd said.

He had kissed all three of his children on the foreheads before he'd left and hugged them tightly. Haley had refused to let go at first, crying into his chest and begging him to be careful. "Please bring them home," she cried. "Don't let him hurt them."

"It'll be okay Haley," he whispered, hugging her back tightly. "I'm going to bring them home."

"Derek," JJ said, coming to sit next to him. "You going to stay okay?" She was trying to insure that he remained calm.

"Yeah," he said gruffly. "And I'm going to be even better when we get my wife and daughter back."

Eden lay crying on the floor of her mini prison as Kevin got off of her mother. She'd seen anything more frightening in her life. For most of it she'd kept her eyes squeezed shut and covered her ears to keep her mother's screams from penetrating her ear drums, but it hadn't worked as well as she wanted. At the moment her mother was lying motionless on the dirty mattress, not moving and staring at the ceiling with blank, dead eyes.

"You sick bastard," Eden whispered to Kevin. "You're nothing more than a coward who wants power over others. You're nothing more than a lunatic who couldn't let go of the past. And when my father finds you, he's going to kill you. He'll kill you!" Her voice was growing weaker by the moment and she put more pressure on her stab wounds, trying to keep the blood loss minimal.

"He'll be in so much pain that he won't be able to function," Kevin said as if it were a fact. "When he sees his beloved wife and daughter in this state, he'll not be able to get up off his knees and he'll not be able to see beyond all the tears in his eyes."

The plane landed at six in the morning at a small airstrip in Maine, close to where the coordinates were. Derek rushed off the plane and to the waiting SUV they had delivered there by the local police. The rest of the team was rushing to keep up with him as he ran to the car.

"Morgan!" Hotch yelled. "Morgan!" He had to roar at him to get his attention. "Keep your cool or I'm making you go back to the station."

Derek glared at his unit chief. "You can't stop me from going to them! I'll run all the way there if I have to."

Hotch knew there was no way to calm Derek in his raging state of mind. He also knew it would be pointless to try and stop him from finding where his wife and daughter were. "Then I'm driving."

Penelope lay looking up at the ceiling, feeling empty. She felt dirty and ashamed. Her daughter had been forced to watch her be raped and she knew it would be with her for the rest of her life.

She heard her daughter snarling at Kevin, but the words didn't register in her brain. She wasn't aware of most of what was going on around her. It wasn't until she saw Kevin exiting the main room of the cabin that she heard words that got through to her.

"Mom?" Eden sobbed softly. "Mom?"

Turning her head, Penelope saw Eden's tear streaked face. She noticed that she was clutching her side and that her hands were covered in blood. "Baby, did you close your eyes?"

Eden just gripped the metal of her cage and sobbed. "Mom, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me."

"Baby, it's not your fault," she whispered. She tried to sit up, but was wracked with pain and fell back. Trying to cover her exposed body, she looked around the room for the keys to Eden's prison, but she couldn't find them anywhere. "Eden, I don't know when he'll come back, but he's going to kill me. I need you to know that I love you more than anything in the world. You need to get out of here. I'll find a way to get you free."

Crying, Eden said, "If I get out of here, you're coming with me."

Penelope was about to respond when the sound of a car pulling up came from outside. There was only a few second interval before the door was kicked down and SWAT agents appeared. Turning painfully, Penelope saw Hotch and JJ enter the cabin, guns raised and eyes vigilant. Derek followed after them and when his eyes landed on Penelope and Eden, he rushed forward, not knowing who he should go to.

"Dad, help Mom," Eden wheezed. "She's hurt." She covered her abdomen so couldn't quite see her stab wounds.

Derek nodded and knelt by Penelope, taking off his jacket to cover her up. "Derek," she sobbed softly. "I'm sorry. He…he hurt our little girl. I wasn't able to stop him."

"Shh," he said, stroking her hair back. It broke his heart to see Penelope, lying on the filthy mattress. He knew that if he found Kevin Lynch, he would beat him to a pulp.

"I found him!" Emily shouted, bringing a struggling Kevin into the main room. She gave the keys to JJ and she went to unlock the cage that Eden was in. Shaking, Eden tried to stand, but her wounds made it so she was only able to crawl. She went forward on her hands and knees, ignoring JJ's attempts to stop her and the pain she was feeling.

"Mom?" she cried, letting her head fall on her mother's chest.

"It's okay, Baby," she murmured.

Kevin laughed manically and got to his feet. "You sick, fucking bastard!" Derek roared, charging forward and tackling him out of Emily's grasp. "You think you can abduct my daughter and harm my wife and her and I won't make you pay?" His fist connected with Kevin's face three times before Hotch and Rossi managed to pull him off. Kevin's glasses were broken and cracked and his nose ran with blood.

"Derek," Hotch growled. "Your wife and daughter need you. Go to them. The medics are on their way. Go!"

Still shaking with rage, Derek felt tears blur his vision. His daughter had been taken, his wife raped, and he hadn't been able to stop any of it. And the man who'd done it all had only received three punches for it. Instead of making another lunge for Kevin Lynch, he returned to his family. Penelope had managed to sit up and was holding Eden to her chest, both of them sobbing. Feeling tears of his own fall, Derek fell to his knees next to them and wrapped them both in his arms, never wanting to let them go.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Criminal Minds, although if CBS wanted to get me a really nice present...**

**Okay, so I know my last chapter was rather awful. I appreciate the reviews and although Derek only got three punches in, he'll get to do more. I promise!**

"Eden and Penelope Morgan?"

Derek leapt from his seat and crossed the waiting room to the doctor who'd called out his wife and daughter's names. "Doctor," he said with a curt nod, not wanting to deal with formalities. "Are they alright?"

The doctor nodded, but her face was grim. "It depends on what you mean by 'alright.' Your daughter sustained some massive internal injuries, probably from a pretty awful beating. She's got two stab wounds to the abdomen, but we were able to patch those up without any trouble. We're going to have to give her skin grafts for the third degree burns on her back and arms, but right now she's got bandages on them and we've given her a lot of pain killers. She'll have some scars, but physically she'll heal nicely," she reported. "Your wife was severely sexually assaulted and from that she has some internal tears and bruising on her inner thighs."

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Mr. Morgan, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you. While your wife and daughter will heal physically in a short amount of time, I'm more concerned about their mental states. It's going to be extremely rough. Since your daughter was forced to watch her mother's rape, she's going to be scarred in ways no one, except probably her mother, are going to understand. And Mrs. Morgan is going to need counselling. My guess is she's going to tell you she's fine, but you have to have her talk to someone, otherwise the memories are going to resurface in some nasty ways.

Derek stared stony-faced at the doctor and felt tears burning in the back of his eyes. He rubbed his jaw tiredly, his hand coming across the rough stubble he'd accumulated in the past seventy-two hours. "Can I see them, please?" he asked.

"Of course," she said gently. "Your wife refused to have a bed set up for her, so she's with your daughter. I allowed it because other than the injuries she received from the assault she's okay to be up and about. And your daughter was particularly upset when the nurses tried to take her away. She only calmed down when they let her mother in the room with her." She motioned for him to follow her down a hallway.

When she left him alone at the door to the room, he saw Penelope sitting on the hospital bed with Eden in her arms, chin resting on the top of her daughter's head. Eden had her face buried against her mother's chest. Neither of them noticed that he was there.

"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting," Eden sniffled into her mother's chest. "I was a shallow bitch."

Penelope stroked Eden's hair down the side of her shoulder and said, "Shh. Eden, you will never, ever lose me. No matter how much we fight and scream at each other. No matter how many nasty names we throw out at each other or how many times we tell the other to go to hell."

"But you were - he did - because of _me_!" she cried. She held Penelope tightly and kept mumbling incoherently and apologizing.

Penelope whispered, "Eden, baby, we're going to get better. And the only person who is to blame for what happened to me is Kevin. It's going to be okay." She kissed to top of Eden's head. "I love you Baby Doll," murmured into her hair.

"I love you, too, Mom," Eden sobbed.

Derek smiled sadly, glad that his wife and daughter were making up. He went further into the room, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "Hey Baby Girl and Baby Doll," he murmured, using their beloved nicknames. They looked at him and Eden hurried to wipe her face to hide her tears from Derek.

"Hi Dad," she sniffed.

Penelope held out her hand for Derek to hold and he was grateful that she wasn't closing herself off from him. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "How are you doing, Baby Girl?" he asked.

She looked close to tears when he asked and shook her head. _Not in front of Eden_, her eyes seemed to say. It pained Derek's heart that he'd been so thoughtless and he nodded.

"Eden, we're going to let you sleep for a little while," Penelope said in her ear. "We'll be right outside, okay?"

Her response was Eden clutching her tighter. "Please don't leave me by myself!" she said frantically, her eyes going wide.

"How about I sit with you?" JJ asked, coming in the room. In her hand she held a cup of coffee and a box of Sour Patch Kids, Eden's favorites. "I brought a deck of cards too, so you can kick my ass at poker."

Eden relaxed her grip on her mother and sat up, wincing slightly. "Okay," she said softly, smiling at JJ a little. "And thanks for the candy and coffee, Aunt JJ."

Leaning down to kiss her forehead, JJ said, "Of course."

Penelope rose from the bed and followed her husband out of the room, still hand-in-hand with him. They found a secluded area of the hospital and Derek grasped her by the shoulders, tilting her chin op for her to meet his eyes.

"Baby Girl, the doctor said you and Eden are going to need to see someone," he said softly. "She said talking is going to help you the most." He ran his hand through her hair. "I want you to know that you don't have to say anything to me. I'm not going to push you." The look in her eyes was filled with sadness and he wanted nothing more than to take all the pain on himself so she wouldn't have to suffer.

Penelope bent her head to look away from him, as if she was ashamed with herself. "I took a shower after they did my -" She paused before saying two of the hardest words she'd ever have to say about herself. "After they did my rape kit." Her voice was almost inaudible. "I stood in the water until it ran cold all over my body and I still feel dirty. It's like there's a layer of grime and filth on me that just won't go away! When I close my eyes, even just to blink, I feel him on top of me. I feel the pain again. And the worst part is I hear Eden's screaming at him to stop." She began to sob. "She never should've had to see that! That's something you never forget. I've wanted so badly to protect her from the things we see and fight against on a daily basis and there she was, trapped right in it!"

She looked back up at him and Derek felt his heart clench. He hated seeing Penelope in any form of pain, even when she was cursing about a paper cut. But this was much worse. It was something he couldn't help her escape and it killed him. "Derek," she said hoarsely. "Please don't think I'm dirty. Please. I'm so sorry about everything. I didn't want him to kill Eden. He had a gun pointed at her and he was-"

Derek put a finger to her lips and pulled her into his arms. Rubbing her back, he said, "You, Penelope Morgan, are the love of my life and I would never -I repeat, _never _- think you were dirty. This is nothing you have to apologize for, do you hear me? Kevin is the one who did this and he is the only one to blame. _He_ is the one who's dirty. _He_is the one who has to apologize. I hate that this happened to you and that I can't help you escape it. I want this to be easier for you. But I also want you to know that you are the strongest person I know. You'll get through this, and so will Eden." Pulling her lips up to his, he kissed her passionately. "And I'm going to be there with you. Every step of the way."

Penelope looked up at him with watery eyes and gave him a shaky smile filled with love. "I love you, Derek Morgan."

"And I love you, Penelope Morgan."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Criminal Minds.**

**Here's the next chapter in this little tale. I just want to send another big thank you to you guys for the reviews I've been getting! They are much loved :) Enjoy this next chapter and the next one will be posted soon.**

A week after getting Eden back, the BAU team returned to Quantico. The jet ride back had been uneventful. Eden had fallen asleep with her head on Penelope's shoulder and was snoring softly. Penelope, on the other hand, was staring blankly into space, not moving an inch. Derek kept checking on her out of the corner of his eye, knowing he'd have to watch her carefully. Hotch was busy trying to find a technical analyst who could step in for her while she was on leave. Strauss was refusing to allow her to work again until she'd passed the psych exams.

It was the one time in his life Derek agreed with the woman's decision.

The plane landed back in DC at nine pm. Eden yawned and opened her eyes, looking out the window at the familiar surroundings. She picked her head up off her mother's shoulder and rubbed her eyes tiredly. All she wanted to do was get back home and sleep in her own bed. She was dreading going back to school, not wanting to have to explain to her friends that their "teacher" had kidnapped her and forced her to watch as he assaulted her mother. Her father had contacted the school while they were still in Maine and gave as few details as possible in order to ensure she could make up all her work.

What Eden was most excited about was seeing her brothers and sister. It had been ten days since last seeing them and as much as she fought with her brothers, she missed their rowdy behavior and Haley's whining about helping her paint her nails.

Eden touched her mother's shoulder gently and winced when she jumped, startled like a deer caught in headlights. "Mom, we're home," she said softly. She held out her hand and waited for her to grasp it.

Penelope blinked a few times before snapping back to reality. The entire flight she'd been thinking about what was going to be done about Kevin. She wasn't a violent person by any means, but she wanted her ex-husband's balls burned on a platter right in front of him. What he'd done to her daughter made her want nothing but pure, unadulterated revenge. If she weren't so frightened of ever seeing his face again she would gladly beat the shit out of him.

"Let's go then," she murmured, taking her daughter's hand as they got up to exit the jet.

XXXXX

"What's going to be done with Lynch?" Derek growled at Hotch and Rossi before he followed Penelope and their daughter to the car where his mother was waiting.

"He'll be moved here," Hotch said guardedly. His brow rose at the glint of hatred in Derek's eyes. "And I don't want to see you anywhere near him. Unless I am present." Clapping Derek on the shoulder, he said, "And believe me, I'll let you scare him so bad he'll be pissing his orange jumpsuit."

Nodding grim-faced, Derek shook Hotch and Rossi's hands. "Thanks guys," he said softly, looking in the direction of his family. Penelope and Eden were hugging Fran tightly and he softened a slight bit.

"Any time," Rossi said pulling Derek into a rare hug.

"Morgan?" Hotch called as he began to stride away.

"Yeah, man?" Derek asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"Tomorrow morning at nine you can be at the BAU to see Lynch," his unit chief reported. "After that you leave and you don't come back until next week."

"You got it."

XXXXX

"Mom! Eden!" Haley shrieked in excitement when the SUV pulled up and Penelope had opened the door. Her youngest daughter was still awake at ten p.m. and she was dressed in her bright pink pajamas, her hair sticking out of two pigtails. The little girl threw her arms around Penelope first and then around Eden.

"Hey squirt," Eden said softly, wincing in pain. She was still hurting from her injuries. "Careful. You'll rip my stitches." Despite the aching she felt, she wrapped her arms around Haley, who she hadn't seen since their first day of school, nearly two weeks before.

The twins were coming down the stairs and both had huge grins on their faces. Penelope took both of them in her arms at once and kissed their cheeks. "Hey you two," she murmured, picking a piece of lint off of Aiden's shirt. "Miss me?"

"Mom, you have no idea how much _I_ missed you," Haley said, squeezing herself between Asher and Aiden and hugging Penelope's waist again. "These two have been _unbearable_!"

Penelope felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and she looked at all four of her children, glad to have all of them in the same room as her again. If it were up to her she would call out a giant group hug and enforce it. She noticed that her sons and Haley were acting oddly nonchalant towards her, though. It didn't seem like normal behavior for kids whose mother had just been assaulted. Glancing at Derek, she noticed he was smiling at them all, not saying anything, just watching. His stare was protective, loving.

She sighed internally. He hadn't told the others about Kevin raping her. She was grateful. The effect it had on Eden scared her every time she thought about it. During the week they'd been in Maine while her oldest child recovered, she tried getting as little sleep as possible. On the first night she'd closed her eyes, she'd dreamt of Eden's screaming and Kevin's breath hot on her face. Every time she closed her eyes she was afraid she'd relive it, so she'd stayed up, drinking cup after cup of coffee, sleeping in only hour intervals where she didn't have enough time to dream.

Her eyes fell on Eden again and she noticed her daughter looking pale. Clapping her hands together once, Penelope smiled and said, "Alright, I'm going to get Ms. Eden here to bed. She's got to get her beauty sleep if she wants to go back to school on Monday." Going around to Aiden, Asher, and Haley, she kissed the tops of their heads and gave them tight squeezes. "Goodnight my loves! I'll be up to wake you up for school in the morning."

"Why would Eden want to go to school on Monday?" Haley asked, sticking her tongue out. "It's boring."

Ruffling her sister's hair, Eden said, " 'Cuz some people like to learn." After hugging her brothers and sister one last time, she went to Derek and gave him a tight hug. "I love you, Dad," she murmured softly.

"Love you too, Baby Doll," he said, kissing his daughter's head. "Say goodnight to your grandmother and get your butt up to bed."

XXXXX

"Mom?"

Penelope turned from adjusting the heat in Eden's room to see her daughter sitting on the edge of her bed, looking small and nervous. "Yeah, baby?" she asked. She went to sit next to her and moved a strand of her cobalt black hair from her eyes.

Eden bit her lip before saying, "Will you, uh, will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Her eyes looked wide as plates as she looked at her.

Pulling her into a hug, Penelope said, "Yes."

Lying down on her side with a yawn, Penelope wrapped Eden in her arms and let her drift off to sleep with the light of her night table glowing softly. Every muscle was tense and everything was silent. Penelope stroked her daughter's hair and rubbed small circles on her arms to try and calm her anxiety. Her breathing evened out and eventually, Penelope let her own exhaustion weigh down on her eyelids and she allowed herself to fall asleep with her daughter, both of them trying to heal with the medicine that sleep might provide them with.

Derek walked in to see what was taking Penelope so long, but sighed. Both his wife and daughter were sound asleep, neither of them moving an inch. Crossing the room to them, he took Penelope's glasses off her face, pulled the covers up around them, and kissed both their foreheads before turning off the bedside light.

XXXXX

"When you're in there, you don't react to what he tells you," Hotch said skeptically to Derek the next morning. His friend and colleague was staring into the interrogation room at Kevin Lynch, the unsub who'd taken his wife and daughter. "The moment I feel like something is turning south, you're out of there and headed home. Got it?" He waited for a curt nod and added under his breath, "I must be going senile to think this is an okay idea." Secretly Hotch was hoping Derek would be punching Kevin at least once because he planned on allowing some of it.

Derek heard everything Hotch told him, but didn't respond. He strode forward confidently into the interrogation room where Kevin was sitting, his back perfectly erect, his trademark awful-patterned shirt untucked and his head covered in a patch of greasy hair. His hands were in handcuffs in front of him and he was staring at a wall. The expression on his face was smug and it took every ounce of Derek's energy to keep his hands steady at his sides as he entered the room.

"Hello, Agent Morgan," Kevin said snidely. "How are your girls doing? Feeling any better?"

It was then that Derek snapped. Hotch and protocol be damned. He curled his right hand into a fist and laid a punch to Kevin, square in the nose, knocking his chair backwards.

"You fucking son of a bitch!"

**So, who's ready to see Derek kick Kevin's ass while Hotch gets front row seats?**__**Until next time, mon amis! Let me know what you think :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Criminal Minds.**

**Here's the chapter everyone seems to have been waiting for! I hope it lives up to your expectations. And thank you for the lovely reviews everyone! **

"You fucking son of a bitch!"

The sound of Derek's fist hitting Kevin's nose was a resounding crack that echoed in the interrogation room. Kevin's chair went flying backwards against the wall and he laughed. "You think this is funny?" Derek roared, landing another hit to his face. "You think it's funny that you _tortured_ a young girl who'd never done anything wrong or that you _raped _the woman you once professed to love?"

"No," Kevin snickered. "I think your reaction is what's funny." He tried to stand up, but he ended up staggering backwards and fell to the floor.

"I'll show you what's funny," Derek snarled, landing a kick to his ribs. "_This_ is funny!" He kicked the man on the floor who had singlehandedly ripped his wife and daughter's lives apart. "And what else is going to be funny is when you end up in prison. Do you know what happens to rapists in prison? Or better yet, men who kidnap teenage girls?" He grabbed Kevin by the collar and pulled him up to slam his back into a wall. "When you're in prison, I hope someone kills your miserable ass. I'll get the text while I'm sitting down to dinner that you're dead, and I'll smile like I have no care in the world because my wife and daughter will be safe from ever having to see your abhorrent face again!"

Dropping him, Derek turned to leave, when Kevin cackled. "They'll never be safe from me. I'll haunt them for the rest of their lives," he said. "_I_ will be the man who their beloved Derek Morgan couldn't save them from. I'll be the face they'll never escape."

Rage refilling his veins instantly, Derek went back to him and laid another kick to his ribs. It was then that the doors were finally open to the interrogation room and Hotch and Reid rushed in. Rossi and Prentiss were standing at the door, their faces grim as their friend was grabbed roughly by the shoulders. All forms of curse words were coming from Derek's mouth and he fought against their holds to try and charge at Kevin again.

"Derek! Stand down," Hotch ordered gruffly.

"I'll kill him!" he hollered.

"We know you will," Reid stated bluntly. "That's why we're getting you out of here."

"Let me go!" Derek managed to struggle out of their hold and landed another kick to Kevin's abdomen. "Son of a bitch!"

"Just wait until my trial," Kevin taunted. "I'll make sure they never forget my face. You know when I was finished with her she said, 'I'm sorry, Derek'? Eden begged me to stop, but not Penny. She refused to let anything to happen to her _precious_ baby, so she put up with it. All she did was cry."

Prentiss had joined Hotch and Reid to grab onto Derek and the three of them finally managed to drag him out of the interrogation room. Behind them, Rossi had looked down at Kevin and said, "Thank your stars that we came in here before he could finish with you." With one last disgusted glance at the man on the floor, he spat on his body and left the interrogation room.

XXXXX

Derek was breathing heavily when Hotch forced him to sit down in the round table room. The rage burning through him was written plainly on his face and he put his head in his hands, trying desperately to calm himself down. Every part of him wanted to return to the interrogation room and finish Kevin off. Hearing details of Penelope's rape had only thrown gasoline on the fire of hate he felt blazing in him. As he sat, he fully expected Hotch would reprimand him for deliberately disobeying him. Instead, his boss put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Morgan, go home. We'll see you in a week."

XXXXX

After the twins and Haley were off to school, Penelope found Eden downstairs on the living room couch with her backpack, rifling through it. She found what she was looking for and smiled.

"What's the homework?" she asked, going up to sit next to her.

Eden held up her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. "My English teacher told Dad I could do a project on any novel of 'literary merit' to catch up. They start a new unit on Monday, so I'll just turn this in and start with them."

Penelope kissed her daughter's cheek and said, "I'll let you read. Oh, and Ashley said she was going to stop by when school is over." She noticed Eden's reluctant look and said, "Is that okay?"

"Oh! Yeah," she said. "It's just…what do I tell her? I don't want to lie to her, but I don't want her to know –" She paused and flopped her head against the couch cushions.

"You tell her what you feel the need to tell her," Penelope told her honestly. "Your father's profiled Ashley before. She won't repeat anything you don't want her to."

Eden looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow. It shocked Penelope how much like herself her daughter looked at that moment. "Dad profiled Ash?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course he did." Penelope looked out the window of their house and saw Derek's SUV pull up. She frowned. "Speak of the devil…" As he exited the car, half his face was hidden by his sunglasses, but from what she could see, he was extremely upset. Looking down at her daughter, she said, "Eden, stay in here for me, okay? I want to see what's wrong with your dad." Eden nodded, her face blank, and opened her book to start it.

Penelope went to the door and met Derek in the kitchen. "Derek?" she said gently. He was leaning with his elbows on the counter, eyes squeezed shut in anger. "Derek, what's wrong?"

"Everything, Penelope," he said. He turned to look at her and she saw that his eyes were red. She went towards him let him pull her into a crushing hug.

"Baby, what happened?" she asked gently, holding him tightly around the waist.

"I can't erase the pain for you," he said brokenly. "I can't make it go away for you or Eden."

Pulling back to look him in the eyes, she grasped his face in her hands and said, "Derek, nothing but time can make this go away. And we'll get through it, we will. It's just going to take some time."

"He told me…he said things about what he did," Derek said, his voice sounding like it had been shredded. "He _laughed_ about it and I wanted to kill him. I still want to kill him. If Hotch hadn't pulled me out of there I probably would have killed him."

Penelope sucked in a breath when she realized what he was talking about, but she pulled Derek's face down to hers and kissed him passionately. "Derek, what he did to me, it'll go away. I'm making an appointment later today for Eden and I to talk to someone and we'll work through it." She kissed him again, but this time her tears mixed in and she had to sniffle.

Derek pulled her into his chest and inhaled the scent of her hair. He was grateful she wasn't closing herself off from him. Her tears stained his shirt and he kissed the top of her head in an attempt to comfort her. Penelope was right. With time, they would get better.

**Hope everyone likes it okay. I think there will be one or two more chapters of this story. I'll be sad when it's over...I like writing this one!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything :(**

**Here's another chapter of this little saga. Thanks for the reviews!**

_4 Months Later_

Derek entered the house after being gone for two days to find the twins and Haley sitting uncomfortably on the couch, staring at random places around the living room. Their expressions were mixed and Haley was wiping her cheeks. He put his go-bag down by the door and took off his jacket. "Everything okay guys?" he asked. He glanced around for Penelope and Eden.

"Mom kind of…lost it," Asher said bluntly.

As he was about to ask what they meant by "lost it," Derek heard an unholy scream from the upstairs and a crash of a glass. Racing up the stairs, he hollered, "Penelope!" Worry filled his head and he shouted again, "Penelope!"

Eden was sitting in the doorway of her parents' bedroom, crying into her knees. Derek knelt by her sobbing form and said, "Eden, what happened?" he asked, grasping her forearms. "Eden, where's your mother?"

"S-she just started –" Eden sobbed.

Derek stood up and ran to the master bathroom where he found Penelope, standing in front of their mirror which was now shattered. By the looks of it she had also broken a few drinking glasses in the sink. He gawked at the sight and said, "Penelope, what happened?" Because he was still wearing his shoes, he walked gently over to her and put his arms around her. "Baby Girl?"

Penelope's face was stained with tears and he pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the ground. She sobbed against his chest, staining his t-shirt. "I'm s-s-orry," she wailed. "I woke up when the kids came home and I thought someone was in the house and –"

"Shh," he soothed, kissing her head.

"I scared Haley," she said, wiping her teary face. "I can't believe I did that!"

"Baby, it's okay," he said. He laid her down on the bed and crawled in next to her, holding her in his arms. "I'll talk to her. Make sure she understands what happened. It will be okay."

"You can't tell her what happened, what Kevin did to me," she hiccupped. "You can't tell her." Through her tears, she kept mumbling she was sorry. Derek held her tightly in his arms the entire time, until her sniffles grew into silence and steady breathing. He could still hear Eden by the door as he kissed the top of Penelope's head. Rising gently from their bed, Derek pulled the comforter up around her and pushed some hair back from her face sadly.

Leaving his room, Derek pulled Eden up from the ground and hugged her. "It's going to be okay," he said softly. "Your mom is going to be okay, she's just…"

"It's my fault," Eden whispered. "I came upstairs and surprised her on accident while she was working on the computer."

"Baby Doll, your mom has just been a skittish of people," he said. "She's even been a little scared of me." It was only somewhat true. While Penelope was avoiding the topics of how she was feeling or how her psych examinations were going, she was consistently pulling Derek into bed whenever they had alone time. And it was worrying him. It didn't make sense that her sexual appetite was up times a thousand.

Eden sighed. "Our sessions we've had together have gone really well for the most part," she said quietly. "What's happening to her?"

Derek sighed and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I don't know."

XXXXX

It was dinner time and Penelope was still sound asleep. Derek called all the kids into the kitchen for dinner and said, "Alright, dinner guys!" Haley was the last to come in and sit down and her face was still set in sadness. She sat down next to her sister and slumped in her chair.

"Haley, are you okay sweetie?" Derek asked, squeezing her shoulder before sitting down.

"Yeah," Haley shrugged. "I'm fine. Can you pass me the rolls?" The whole kitchen was silent for the entire time they passed the food around. The twins were merely picking at their food, Eden just sipped her water, and Haley stared at the floor.

Derek put his fork down and sighed, "Okay, this is not normal for you four. What's going on?"

"Is Mom going to be okay?" Aiden asked gruffly.

All four of his children looked at him and Derek knew the spotlight was on all of them. Eden already knew what was wrong with her mother – she'd had nightmares about it – but the rest of them were all confused. None of them knew why their mother was having her third meltdown in the past four months. None of them knew why their older sister was waking up screaming in the night.

"She'll be okay," he said softly. "With time. She'll be okay."

XXXXX

Penelope woke up with a pounding headache. She sat up in the bed and put her head in her hands, feeling tears burn in the back of her eyes. She hadn't meant to scare her twelve year old, but when she'd heard Eden thundering up the stairs, she went into overdrive. Her heart had started to race and she became scared that someone was in the house. There was no rational reason behind her thinking, but she got so upset she locked herself in the bathroom. But when she looked in the mirror, she saw Kevin's reflection, and that was when she lost it. She threw anything she could find at the mirror until his reflection went away.

"Mom?"

She looked up to see Haley coming in the room, her small face hesitant. Penelope instantly felt guilty. The look on her daughter's face when she burst out of her bedroom was enough to make her think she was a monster for the rest of her life. "Yeah, baby?"

Haley walked over and sat down next to Penelope. "Are you…okay?"

She shook her head. "No, baby. I'm not okay." She pulled Haley into her arms, which was welcomed, and added, "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. I'm so sorry." A few tears trickled down her cheeks and she sniffled. "But I'm going to get better. I promise."

"It's okay, Mom," Haley said sweetly. She hugged her mother tightly and let her cry into her hair.

XXXXX

"They should all be asleep now," Penelope whispered huskily in Derek's ear late in the evening. She ran a fingernail up his chest that age had not touched one bit. "We could –"

Derek put a finger to Penelope's lips and asked, "Baby, can I just hold you for a little while?" She sat up on her elbows and stared at him like he was crazy. Laughing, he said, "What is that so bad? We've been going at it like rabbits for the last few weeks. I just want to hold on to you for a little while."

Penelope sighed softly and let Derek pull her towards him to hold her against him. He put his hand on her hip and wrapped the other around her waist. "I love you, Baby Girl," he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin. "And I love having sex with you, but we need to talk. I don't care how _much_ we talk about, but I miss just talking with you."

Turning onto her other side so that her chest was against his, she kissed his neck and said, "What do you want to talk about?" She touched his beard and smiled.

"I want to make sure you're okay," he said. "You really scared all of us earlier."

She wrapped her arms around Derek and said tearfully, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about this whole thing."

"Baby," he began, "you've got to stop beating yourself up. You went through something terrible and it affected you in the worst way. Haley understood. She knows you didn't mean to scare her. Don't worry about her." He kissed her forehead and showered her face with them until she was smiling through her tears.

"And you, I've been treating you like a sex toy!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Baby. I just don't know what's gotten into me lately."

He cupped her cheek gently and kissed her fervently. "You can treat me like a sex toy all you want. As long as I make it just as good for you," he said with the slight hint of a growl in his voice. His hand slid down her neck and trailed his fingers down to her breasts.

"Is this a proposition?" she laughed as his lips touched the base of her throat.

"Maybe…" He kissed her shoulders this time.

"Are we gonna do it anyway?" she asked breathlessly as his hand slid under the waistband of her silk panties.

"You know I can't resist you," he said huskily. "You wanna be on top, player?"

"You know it," she whispered as she slid on top of him.


	12. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

**Here's the final chapter to this story. I hope you like it. Think of it as a Christmas present from me to you :) Thank you bunches for the reviews! New stories are coming for your reading pleasure…soon.**

_The Following May – Prom Time_

"Eden and Ashley, you look _so_ pretty!" Haley squeaked as she sat on her sister's bed cross-legged. Eden was dressed up in her floor-length purple prom dress and her and her best friend were getting ready to meet their dates. "I wish _I_ was going to prom."

"A few years," Ashley said, tweaking Haley's nose. She twirled around in her green dress and took Haley's hands and pulled her up to dance with her to whatever music they had going. The little girl got up and bounced up and down with her sister's best friend.

A knock on the door to Eden's room sounded and Eden went to open it. Derek was standing with an evil smirk on his face and said, "Your boyfriend's here."

Eden groaned. "Dad, he's not my boyfriend! And don't interrogate him." She glared at him and all he did in reply was snicker.

"Stop being an ass," Penelope said, coming up behind her husband and smacking his arm. "At least there aren't any boys fighting over her this year." She winked at Eden, who was looking rather nervous. Taking her daughter's hand, she said, "Ladies, I'm going to borrow Miss Eden here. We'll be right back." She didn't bother saying anything; she took her by the hand and led her to their bedroom.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Penelope asked, tilting Eden's chin up. "You look…upset."

"Mom, I'm just nervous," Eden sighed. "Dad's going to beat Travis up, isn't he?"

Laughing, Penelope pulled her into a hug and said, "Your father isn't going to beat Travis up. Just…talk to him." She rubbed her arms and said, "What else is bothering you though?"

The last few months for Penelope and Eden had been rocky, but they were getting better. Months of intense therapy for both of them had brought them closer together, leaving them both with an understanding of the other that no one had or could comprehend. It was as if a sixth sense was installed in both of their brains and they could sense how the other was feeling in an instant.

"Not much," she said honestly. "Big night and all. I'm not a very good dancer."

Penelope smiled and tucked a tendril of hair behind Eden's ear. "You know, it took your father years to get me to dance with him because I always thought I was a bad dancer. Turns out, I'd been dancing with the wrong people until I finally danced with him."

Eden rolled her eyes playfully at her mother and said, "Not everyone can find their 'forever kind of love' like you and Dad did. I'm pretty sure Travis isn't going to be the guy I marry."

"Everything happens for a reason, Baby Doll," Penelope said softly. "You going to Prom with Travis may have happened for a big, life-changing reason or maybe it happened for a miniscule tiny reason. Either way, it happened for a reason." Kissing Eden's forehead, she added, "And no matter what, your father and I will always love and support you."

A knock came from the door and Derek poked his head inside. "Trent is getting ansty out here with just Ashley and Jack," he said with a smirk.

"_Travis_, Dad!" Eden barked as she went towards the door with a murderous glare on her face. "And be nice or I'll tell everyone about the time Uncle Spencer punched you in the face and you fell over."

Fake horror came over Derek's face and he let out a gasp. "You wouldn't!"

Penelope grabbed her camera and ushered Derek and Eden out the door. "Picture time you silly hooligans!"

XXXXX

Once Eden and her friends were off to prom, Derek and Penelope went in to the house and collapsed on the couch. Asher was on a field trip with the rest of his freshmen track team, Aiden was off with his lacrosse friends, and Haley was spending the night at a friend's house. The entire house was empty save for Penelope and Derek.

"You really should've given that boy a break," Penelope said as she laid her head against Derek's lap. "I don't see him treating Eden poorly."

Derek laughed and ran his long fingers over his wife's scalp. "Eh, he'll get over it," he snickered. "I profiled him. He's a good kid. I don't think Eden's scary father is going to get in the way of him wanting to get her to admit they're boyfriend and girlfriend."

From the coffee table in front of them, Derek's phone vibrated with a text message which he promptly picked up to look at. It was from Hotch, but it wasn't work related.

_Lynch killed in prison. Beaten to death. Hope Eden's prom date turns out to be an okay guy. See you on Monday._

He was silent for a moment and Penelope sat up. "Baby? Derek? Is everything okay?"

Finally grinning, Derek pulled his wife in for a kiss and said, "Everything is perfect, Baby Girl."

Cocking an eyebrow at him, Penelope smirked. "Oh, yeah? And why's that?"

"Because, all's right in the world," he whispered. His voice turned serious and he added, "Lynch was beaten to death." He paused to stroke his thumb over her cheek bone. Her face was blank. "It's over, Penelope."

Tears filled her eyes and she threw her arms around Derek's neck and she held him tightly. His arms went around her and she whispered, "It's over." The man who'd torn her world apart, who'd hurt her daughter was now dead, gone from their lives forever. "I love you, Derek."

"Love you too, Penelope," he murmured.

Pulling away from his embrace, Penelope said huskily, "Should we celebrate?"

Letting his fingers trail under her skirt, Derek laughed and said, "I can think of a few different ways we can do that. Any requests?"

Pulling his face towards hers and kissing him fiercely, she grinned and said, "Make love to me Derek."

Returning her passion, Derek proceeded to do just that.


End file.
